India’s NIA links US national, six Ukrainians to drone attack on civilian aircraft in Kachin State

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) has linked U.S. national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainian nationals to a drone strike on a civilian aircraft in Kachin State, alleging the group was part of a network providing drone warfare training to resistance forces in Myanmar. The seven foreign nationals were detained in March after allegedly entering India illegally through the border from Myanmar into Mizoram State. The NIA told a Delhi court that the group was connected to a “pre-scheduled training on drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology” intended for Myanmar-based resistance forces fighting the military. The agency accused Van Dyke and the Ukrainians of involvement in a terror conspiracy linked to armed groups operating in both India and Myanmar. The NIA made the allegations while seeking permission from a special court in Delhi to interrogate Van Dyke and Ukrainian national Kaminskyi Viktor inside Tihar jail, where both are being held, Indian media reported. The court granted the agency access to question the two on Sept. 2-3, ruling that interrogation of the accused fell within standard investigative procedure and that courts should generally not interfere in such processes. The NIA stated it had received “credible information” from the Indian central government regarding the involvement of the U.S. and Ukrainian nationals in the drone attack on a civilian plane in Myanmar. Drones used in the strike were allegedly supplied to local resistance forces through a network connected to what the NIA described as the “Matthew Van Dyke module.” The attack targeted a Myanmar National Airlines ATR-72-600 flight (registration XY-AMI) at Myitkyina airport on Feb. 20, as passengers were boarding ahead of its scheduled departure to Mandalay, the Tribune India reported. At least two first-person-view kamikaze drones struck the aircraft at 8:12 pm local time, the NIA stated. The drones were fitted with RPG-type warheads and inflicted damage to the nose, fuselage and tail of the plane. The NIA’s investigation indicated the drones were supplied to local armed groups through a network tied to Van Dyke. The agency is now working to trace the origin of the drones, identify the supply network, and determine who provided the technical training to operate them. Van Dyke was detained on March 13 alongside six Ukrainian nationals — Viktor, Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian and Honcharuk Maksim — after they were intercepted at various domestic airports following their alleged illegal crossing from Myanmar into India’s Mizoram State. The NIA’s probe found that at least 14 Ukrainian nationals had entered India on tourist visas at different times, travelling to Mizoram via Guwahati without obtaining the mandatory Restricted Area Permit or Protected Area Permit. On March 16, the court granted the NIA 11 days’ custody of the accused before they were remanded to judicial custody. The agency stated it had seized photographs, videos and voice samples from devices belonging to the detained individuals, describing the digital evidence as crucial to the investigation.